20 Million Miles to Earth.

Review #2422: 20 Million Miles to Earth.

Cast: 

William Hopper (Robert Calder), Joan Taylor (Marisa Leonardo), Frank Puglia (Dr. Leonardo), John Zaremba (Dr. Judson Uhl), Thomas Browne Henry (Maj. Gen. A. D. McIntosh), Tito Vuolo (Police Commissioner Unte), Jan Arvan (Contino), Arthur Space (Sharman), and Bart Braverman (Pepe) Directed by Nathan Juran (#613 - Attack of the 50 Foot Woman)

Review: 

Sure, here's a monster movie in Italy. This was the fifth film (not including work for the documentary The Animal World) that had effects provided by Ray Harryhausen, coming in between Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). This was the first of four movies Harryhausen helped write the story for (strangely, the other ones he did were all Sinbad movies). He didn't get credit for the story in the film itself, but it was his initial idea that made it all come together eventually with the initial working title "The Giant Ymir" (the funny thing is: the resulting movie never names the creature because of fears people would confuse it with the title "Emir", as opposed to the real "Ymir" that refers to Norse mythology*). He worked with Charlott Knight (a regular in appearing on television) in what became a working script, with Harryhausen being the one who set it in Italy because he wanted to have a vacation there (yes, he did get a few days in Rome for the production of this film). Robert Creighton Williams and Christopher Knopf then wrote the screenplay for the movie. Harryhausen made the film with producer Charles H. Schneer (who went on to produce all but one of Harryhausen's ventures starting with It Came from Beneath the Sea [1955]): it was the first of three features with Harryhausen-Schneer-Juran (the Academy Award winning art director-turned-director, starting with The Black Castle [1952]) together, as they did the aforementioned 1958 Sinbad movie together and First Men in the Moon (1964). In the late 2000s, a colorized version was released on home media with the help of Harryhausen, who had originally wanted the film to be shot in color.

It never hurts to watch a creature feature to remind yourself of the fun you can have with the craftsmanship at hand. And it goes double for a movie that reminds you that some creatures aren't even straight up monsters but merely animals reacting to the environment around them (interestingly, the sound effects for the creature here are actually elephant sounds played at a higher speed), with sulfur being the big one in particular. It's the kind of Space Age movie that could have a rocket resemble a V2 rocket because hey, it wasn't quite time to know what a ship for travel would really look like (the Sputnik launch occurred just a few months after this film was released). In a sense, if you're the kind of person who likes seeing a take on King Kong (1933), you'll have a fun time here with another "Dynamation" effort that works out pretty well regardless of if the effect is seen in the dark or not. This was actually one of Hopper's last film appearances (having come back a few years prior due to William A. Wellman), as 1957 saw him do The Deadly Mantis, this film and Slim Carter...and a television show called Perry Mason that resulted in him appearing regularly on the show for nine years. He makes a solid lead in staid calmness, one who has the look of a guy who actually does try to corral the creature rather than straight up killing it. The rest of the cast is relatively satisfactory to what you expect from ones ranging from nurses to authority figures and so on. Sure, the setup for how a container creature comes up from a crashed spaceship (spoiler: beware children bearing things to sell) is a bit on the flimsy side, but you get what you want with an 83-minute feature that is spry on setting up mayhem with a few sights (such as an elephant fight!) that are welcome. As a whole, if you like creature features with a neat look and lean execution to boot, you will find plenty to adore here in a movie fit for a creature of the night.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

*Interestingly, the movements of the Ymir influenced musician Gene Simmons for his persona for Kiss.

Track of the Cat.

Review #1387: Track of the Cat.

Cast: 
Robert Mitchum (Curt Bridges), Teresa Wright (Grace Bridges), Diana Lynn (Gwen Williams), Tab Hunter (Harold Bridges), Beulah Bondi (Ma Bridges), Philip Tonge (Pa Bridges), William Hopper (Arthur Bridges), and Carl Switzer (Joe Sam) Directed by William A. Wellman (#349 - Wings, #494 - The Public Enemy, #866 - Nothing Sacred, and #973 - A Star is Born)

Review: 
"Get a director and a writer and leave them alone. That's how the best pictures get made."

Whether the film turned out to be a classic or not, one can respect the diverse range that William A. Wellman brought to film during his time as a director. "Wild Bill" Wellman (who earned the nickname for his World War I air-service) had actually started in film as an actor, owing to his looks that were noticed by Douglas Fairbanks (after trying his hand as a salesman and hockey). However, he soon found the profession of acting to be "unmanly", deciding to shift his focus to jobs behind the camera that would gradually shift to directing. He debuted unofficially as a director with The Twins of Suffering Creek (1920) while starting his career with Fox Film Corporation with low-budget films. However, he soon found himself thrust into directing a World War I pilot melodrama with Wings (1927), which was a hit with audiences. Wellman was known for his high-strung temperament with his actors along with his fast nature of making films, usually settling with just one or two takes for a shot. He did a variety of genres in a career of over thirty years, from war / aviation films to romantic melodramas to comedies to westerns, which helped him earn three Academy Award nominations for directing and one win for Best Story while directing seven actors to Academy Award nominations.

This was the fifth-to-last film of his career, released in the same year that he had done a notable work (in this case aviation) with The High and Mighty (whose star John Wayne served as producer for this feature). However, Track of the Cat did not prove as successful, with Wellman even describing it as "a flop artistically, financially, and Wellmanly" (of course he also once stated that for every good picture, he made at least five stinkers), with one key regret involving not showing the blank panther up close. The film was adapted from the 1949 novel The Track of the Cat from novelist and teacher Walter Van Tilburg Clark, whose previous work The Ox-Bow Incident had been adapted by Wellman into a film a few years earlier, with novelist A.I. Bezzerides writing the screenplay. Wellman aspired to make a black-and-white film in color, where shooting was done with subdued and stark shades of grey, black, and white, which certainly stick out when there is a moment with an element of noticeable color, such as a red coat in the midst of snowy Washington. On the one hand, the film does look quite haunting for a Western, one that seems quite brooding and ambitious to churn out melodrama on an path different from others. Perhaps this turns out better for others who watch it, because I found the ultimate result a middling disappointment, seeming to lack a real purpose of existing beyond interesting imagery and occasional highlight moments. Honestly, I went into the film with a very small rundown on what the film actually was (too much of a plot check can be too much of a plot check), intrigued by Mitchum and Wright with a curiosity over a hunt for a cat. Well, one does certainly see a cat-hunt, but the time is mostly spent of family squabbling that meanders and feels lacking in real tension to make it seem worth it, where spending time in an actual cold mountain with someone you don't like might actually be preferable. I liked seeing Mitchum from time to time, because he has the confidence for a brusque role (by just being nonchalant) despite being fragmented from the others after the first third of the film or so. Wright does fine with a reserved role that is begging for more to do like the character reflects, since Bondi proves to have the most grip with self-righteous furor to go with a browbeaten Hunter that comes into his own with mixed results. As strange as it is to have a young actor play an elderly mystical character, it might seem stranger to note that it is played by former Our Gang star Carl Switzer, who doesn't talk too much during the feature, although he does do a decent job with what he is given. Perhaps the book is more reaching on a philosophical level than the film proves, but I generally found the movie to be just okay at its attempts at something to latch onto. The CinemaScope does tend to make the film look pretty well, but it is what goes on for 102 minutes that make things drop with a thud when it matters most. It is a kind of Western that might appeal to someone looking for something different to look at and think about if the mindset is in the right place.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Rebel Without a Cause.

Review #181: Rebel Without a Cause.

Cast
James Dean (Jim Stark), Natalie Wood (Judy), Sal Mineo (John "Plato" Crawford), Jim Backus (Frank Stark), Ann Doran (Carol Stark), Corey Allen (Buzz Gunderson), William Hopper (Judy's father), Rochelle Hudson (Judy's mother), Edward Platt (Ray Fremick), Frank Mazzola (Crunch), and Dennis Hopper (Goon) Directed by Nicholas Ray.

Review
James Dean had made only three films before his tragic death, with one reviewed here already (#105 - East of Eden), This is the second of the three, and it is excellent. Dean once again is good, with his teenage angst coming into full mode with Wood, Mineo, and Backus also doing well. I must mention a young Dennis Hopper appears in this film, who would go on to do good films on his own (Easy Rider, Hoosiers, Speed) This film also has good directing, which captures the essence of teenagers and more. Good story in this good film.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.